Ultrasaur Helios
by The Oracle
Summary: In an alternate version of the LBT world, around the time of the first movie, a lone young longneck takes on a power protected by an ancient guardian of the Earth itself, in order to combat her crazed son, who is destroying it. Rated T for violence.
1. Prologue

The following is another brainstorm I had a while back. I know you're all waiting for me to update my other stories, and I will at some point. This is just what has my creative juices flowing at the moment.

It combines elements of the LBT storylines, as well as Japan's famed Ultraman Franchise. LBT is property of Universal, and Ultraman that of Tsuburaya productions. No profit is intended in the creation of this story.

Also, be warned that this takes place in an Alternate version of the LBT universe, so some things are going to be different.

Enjoy!

Another time...another Earth...another universe.

Yes, it is similar to the Earth we know, but it is one created by far different means than those that our scientists can explain.

This earth was created by giants. Giants who lived out of the view of the creatures that walked upon this planet. We in our world would know them as the Titans. The grand overlords of the Earth, who existed long before even the oldest gods in human civilization.

In this, the age of the dinosaurs, the Titans were content with their power, and rule over these lands. They knew that the survival of the great beasts, no matter how enormous and powerful they seemed, depended on whatever the Titans did. If even one Titan was angered, be it by another titan, or by whatever happened on Earth, it spelled catastrophe for the dinosaurs.

This is the way all the Titans believed the world would be, from now until the end of time. All were more than happy to hold this belief.

Then, the prophecy came forth.

Gaia, the mother of the Titans, the mother of all that grew and flourished from the land, began to have visions on evenings when the moon was full and bright. Once she had made sense of them, she confided in her husband, Uranus, as well as all of her Titan children. She had seen a vision that possibly spelled doom for the Titans.

She had seen that the dinosaurs and small mammals of the earth, created by the Titan Lapetus, would one day make way for a new form of life, untouched by Titan hands. They were to be known as Humans, creatures of not only great strength, but intelligence as well. She prophesied that these humans would become so clever and so brave, that they would eventually discover the secrets of the earth itself, and use them to their own benefit, needing no assistance from the Titans ever again.

This prophecy had a great effect on all of the Titans...some were intrigued at this notion, and were content to let history take its course, interested in seeing just how far these humans could go in trying to attain their level of power.

Others, however, were very much threatened by this idea. They did not like the idea of creatures they did not create, and had no control over, one day amassing power that could even exceed their own. The most vocal objector against this Prophecy was Gaia and Uranus' son, Cronos.

The one time lord of fertility and food on the earth was plagued by the notions the prophecy brought forth. He decided that he could no longer perform his duties with life the way it was progressing now, and argued that the Titans must take steps to ensure their dominance over all life. He argued that it would be better to kill all of the creatures on Earth now, and start over from a clean slate, rather than take a chance and just watch these new beings spring up, who he believed would one day supplant his race.

Both Gaia and Uranus came out in opposition to this idea. They believed that only his brother, Lapetus, should be able to decide whether the creatures lived or died, being their creator. Cronos tried hard to persuade his brother, but Lapetus could not bring himself to this act of genocide, after his creations had come so far in their development.

Cronos was angered by this, and accused Lapetus of being a traitor. When Uranus rose to defend his son, Cronos, blinded by rage, withdrew his dagger and slashed his father through the heart. Lapetus immediately tried to kill Cronos at the sight of this, only to find himself obstructed by Cronos' favorite sister, Rhea.

After seeing Rhea accidentally murdered by Lapetus, Cronos' rage grew even stronger. He slaughtered his brother mercilessly, along with all of his Titan brothers and sisters, before taking the life essence of Rhea into his heart, and vanishing into the Earth itself.

Only Gaia, Cronos' mother, was spared from this horrible act. She also vanished into the Earth, taking with her the life essences of all her other Titan children, using them to sustain the Earth as well as she could on her own.

But life on Earth was no longer the paradise it once was. The Rage of Cronos spread through all the lands like a sickness, consuming so much food and water wherever it went. Dinosaurs began to starve, and were hunted by more and more Sharpteeth, also seemingly affected by Cronos' anger.

Word began to spread among all the dinosaur clans of one place...one beautiful place that was unaffected by all of this chaos and death. None of them knew, of course, that this place was the one area where Gaia still had power over the elements of the world. A place where she used the essences of her children to sustain her ideal vision of the Earth in one small space.

This place was known as The Great Valley.


	2. Episode One: Light From Darkness

In the warm, inviting rays of The Great Valley, a young Longneck frolicked through the grass and plants. He happily splashed through the water of a lake nearby, lost in the care free whimsy of his youth.

In another world, he was given the name of Littlefoot, but in this one, that name belonged to another. This young longneck, was, in this world, a lost egg. He hatched in nothing but solitude, and it seemed he would die in it as well.

Gaia, however, was quite good at sensing lost children in the world. It seemed the fact that all of her Titan children had been murdered, and one was now a lost psychotic, gave her an insatiable need to find new children to care for. She figured it might as well be the children of the Earth itself.

The young longneck was among the first that she had taken in, using her motherly voice to lure them to her home, taking them to remaining sources of food and water she sensed along the way. Upon taking them in, she also gave names to the unnamed.

The one known as Littlefoot in the other world, was known by the name Helios in this one. Gaia remembered that this was the name her Son, Hyperion, was going to give to his child upon his birth...a birth interrupted by the murder of him and his Titan bride. Seeing as how this longneck child came from a race of creatures whose heads reached high towards the sun, the name seemed appropriate.

Young Helios was soon joined by a young male three-horn, who went by the name of Eos. The two looked around for something to do on this lovely day, as they remembered the waterfall nearby.

"Hey Helios!" Eos grinned. "Check this out."

Helios looked on as the young three-horn charged towards the rushing water. He leaped, and grabbed a vine hanging in the air, swinging out over the water. He then let go, and plummeted down into the water below with a splash.

"Wow!" Helios laughed a bit as he walked towards the edge. "I hadn't thought of doing that before." He grinned up to the loose vine as it swung about.

Eos laughed a bit and grinned. "Yeah, well, that's the good thing about being the smart one."

Helios cocked his eyebrow a bit. "I thought you said you were the strong one, and I was the smart one."

"I'm allowed to change my mind about that!" Eos argued, as he paddled towards the shore, shaking the water off of him. "Hey, let's see what's in that cave over there!" His eyes went wide as he saw the opening in the rock wall across from him.

"Eos!" Helios jumped down to join him. "Don't you remember? That's the forbidden zone!"

Eos thought for a second, before nodding. "Oh yeah..." he then looked back to his friend. "Why is it forbidden again?"

"Gaia says that's where she trapped all the evil in this part of the world." Helios reminded him. "If we go in there, there could be all kinds of bad things waiting to hurt us."

"Huh..." Eos scoffed. "I'd like to see if they've met someone like ME before." He grinned and pawed at the ground a little.

"You wanna go in there and say hello?" Helios shook his head as he began to walk away. "Be my guest."

Eos narrowed his eyes, and took a long look at the dark passage ahead of him...but then, his eyes shot wide open in fear, as if the realization of what could have been in that place dawned on him.

"Eh..." he shrugged it off, still trying to look macho as he walked off as well. "I've got better things to do, anyway."

"Heya Leto! Hi Selene!" Helios called out to the Longneck girl and Spiketail girl in the distance.

"Helios!" Leto called back. "How's it going?"

"Doing great on another great day!" Helios answered her.

"I know, really." Leto nodded. "It only seems to rain here when the place needs it. It's great!"

Selene took a look at the approaching Eos, and saw that he was all wet, giggling. "Tried the vine-swinging trick again, huh?"

Eos grinned and nodded as Helios looked to Selene. "He showed that to you already?"

"Me and Leto both." The Spiketail nodded. "This guy's always eager to show off."

"Only because I know you like it." Eos grinned even more.

Selene scoffed. "Oh, yeah, right."

"C'mon, guys." Leto changed the subject. "I don't know about you, but I'm itching to fill my belly up with some more sweet bubbles."

"Now you're talking." Eos nodded as he galloped off in front of everyone. Selene and Leto soon followed.

It all seemed so idyllic, Helios thought to himself as he walked off behind them. Such a perfect world. To have this presence he only knew as Gaia, lead him here, after what seemed like an eternity of darkness and loneliness.

It all seemed to good to be true. This was the thought that haunted him secretly. How long could such goodness in a place possibly last? How long could he and his new friends go on just enjoying themselves like this? Such lasting happiness, while welcome to him, also seemed...unreal.

These thoughts not only troubled him during the day, but also in the night, as he slept. He would often have very disturbing dreams. Not surprising, Gaia would tell him, when considering the dark world he came from. But it seemed deeper to him than past experience. It seemed to be not only visions of the past, but also warnings of the future.

These visions would come to a head on one fateful night... a night with a full, bright moon.

Helios sat up quickly on his hindlegs, springing up from his sleep as he panted in fear, almost calling out in terror. He then sighed and hung his head, his mind lost in darkness once more.

It had been a more terrifying dream than usual. He had seen longnecks, who seemed to look quite a bit like him, struck down and torn to pieces by creatures...terrifying perversions of the dinosaurs themselves, with the imposing figure of the dreaded Cronos in the background, fire and rock consuming the air, as giant waves from the ocean moved in to consume the land.

It was in this moment of contemplation, that Helios looked towards the distance...in the direction of the forbidden zone. In the direction of the dark cave, that gave no hint of the possible horrors in store.

It scared him...it scared him immensely. But tonight, he felt not only fear...but curiousity. Something inside was telling him that this place, and his dark visions, were somehow related. He had vowed never to go into that place, and had promised the same from Gaia.

But on this night...he was drawn to it. He rose slowly to his feet, and walked silently past his sleeping friends.

Long moments seemed to pass, as he looked ahead to the cave of the forbidden zone, the opening growing larger with each step...his instincts told him to stay away from the darkness, but in his mind, he knew the darkness could never be fully avoided, no matter how long he tried to ignore its presence.

With that, he took a deep breath, slowly stepping inside, as he fully expected to receive a harsh admonishment from Gaia's voice at any moment.

But, it didn't happen...all that followed was silence in that darkness. After a few moments, Helios took another step...then another...then another...until he was finally walking in full strides.

The path grew darker, and darker, as water dripped from the jagged edges above. Nothing seemed to be near or around Helios, as he continued to walk, wondering if all that Gaia said had been true about this place.

Then he saw the light...a pulsing, blue light, in the distance.

It was a light unlike any other he had seen...it should have scared him, but it didn't. He only seemed to blink every couple of minutes, as he slowly walked towards the source of the light, watching it get brighter...ever brighter.

It was in this moment that he saw it. It looked like a giant, triangular rock, set into the ground. It seemed to be made of a smooth, unearthly kind of rock, as in the center, a strange symbol glowed in the familiar blue colored light.

"Helios..." he heard a familiar voice call to him. He gasped, and began to back away.

"Don't be afraid, Helios." He looked up to see a humanoid face forming from the rocks above him, covered in bits of moss. "I am not angry with you." The face spoke in the familiar motherly voice he had known since birth.

"Gaia?" He asked, silently.

"It is I..." The Titaness nodded. "I who have nurtured and watched over you and your friends in the valley...and have also protected the essences of my slain children...including that of my dear son, Hyperion." She gazed down towards the flashing stone.

"I...I don't understand." Helios shook his head a little. "You had children?"

"Yes, Helios." Gaia turned her eyes back towards him. "But they were all taken from me...taken by my own son, Cronos."

"Cronos..." Helios got a strange look on his face. He seemed to recall a name like that in his nightmares, as he thought to himself.

"You have had the same visions, I see." Gaia told him before he could even speak. "Then, perhaps, fate has arranged for you to discover this place."

Helios remembered Gaia's warning, and looked up with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I decided to walk in here, after-"

"There was never any forbidden zone, Helios..." Gaia revealed to him. "It was a test. A test to see which of you would one day have the courage to step away from the light I have provided, and stand face to face with the darkness that has swept over this world."

"A test?" Littlefoot's mouth opened. "You were seeing which of us would go inside first?"

"Yes..." Gaia answered, looking down towards the stone. "For what you see before you is a weapon...the means for someone like you, who is ready to step out of the valley, and bring the light of Hyperion to this dark world. Ready to face the menace of Cronos himself, and return hope to the race of the dinosaurs...to all life on this world."

"Wait..." Helios backed off once again. "You want me to FIGHT this Cronos?"

"The Earth needs you, Helios." Gaia raised her voice just a little. "Your fellow dinosaurs are starving, suffering, dying in the world outside of this valley. I can do nothing to combat Cronos' insanity by myself...but with one brave soul, infused with the spirit of Hyperion, there just might be a chance for victory."

Helios walked a little closer to the rock. "What do you mean by infused?"

The rock glowed a little more brightly as Gaia spoke. "You shall be given a piece of Hyperion's spirit, which is contained inside of this stone. With this one fragment, you will imbued with special powers. You will grow to a tremendous size, and have strength equal to that of the Titans themselves. You will combat Cronos' creations, his perversions of the dinosaur race that now plague the world outside."

Before Helios could ask another question, a ball of light came out of the rock. It floated, and zipped towards him, going into his body, and filling it with the same unearthly glow, as he gasped, his eyes shining brightly with light, before returning to normal.

"You are now more than a simple dinosaur, Helios." Gaia told him. "You are now a creature of the earth with the power of a Titan. You are the first of your kind this earth has ever seen. You are an Ultra."

Helios' limbs trembled with the new energy inside of him. "I feel...I feel so different." He looked up at Gaia as he heard voices in his head...multiple voices.

"I can hear them...I can hear them all." He listened, not at all frightened by these new sensations, for some reason.

"Listen to them..." Gaia told him. "Hear them all in their cries for help. They long for light, but many have no idea where they can find it...be that light for them, Helios. Show them that Earth can stand for more than the whims of an insane Titan."

Helios nodded slowly, his gaze lost in the world he'd just been introduced to, as Gaia continued to talk. "My poor son is beyond help. I love him, but not enough to let him slaughter an entire race of beings who have done no wrong to me or him. The time has come for one such as you to find him, and take his life, for that is the only thing that will end his rampage. Are you ready, Helios?"

Helios slowly came out of his haze, and looked towards Gaia, a new sense of purpose filling his eyes. "For my people...and for this wonderful world...I am, Gaia."

"Then head outside of this valley. For even now, a family that wanted nothing more than to eat and sleep in peace, is being attacked by one of Cronos' monstrosities. Call to him, Helios. Call to the Titan who is now a part of your very being."

Littlefoot ran out of the cave, and slowed down as he reached the outside area once again. He gazed up at the night sky, and took a deep breath.

"Hyperion!"

With that call, a ball of light formed on his chest, and his body transformed instantly. The moonlit sky, and the flying dinosaurs with it, looked down to see a a giant, colored in brown, red, and silver...a fist extended as he grew, and grew, and grew...

As this was happening, in another part of the earth, a boy and girl longneck were running away from a twisted creature, along with a young girl three-horn.

"Littlefoot!" The girl longneck cried out, running towards her brother, as the creature, like a sharptooth but with a longer muzzle and twisted teeth, lunged for the youngster, his blank red eyes glowing.

"I'm OK, Lila." Littlefoot nodded as he ran next to his sister. "Wait up, Cera!"

Cera was still running, not concerned for the other two, as she soon discovered the mother of the two longnecks waiting for them all, ready to face down the menacing creature. She swung her powerful tail, slapping the monster across the face as her two children caught up with Cera.

The monster took a few more smacks from the Mother's tail, before setting his feet, and leaping into the air, prepared to bite a big chunk out of her back.

Before it could do this, however, something flew in from out of nowhere, and kicked it in the chest, sending it flying in another direction as it slammed into the ground and rolled.

Everyone at the scene looked on, dumbfounded, as the form of the giant in silver and red landed across from the creature, his golden eyes glowing brightly on his sliver face.

"What is that?" Lila asked, breathlessly.

"Who cares! Keep running!" Cera yelled as she went off in her own direction, frantically searching for her own family.

The giant soon raised his fists, and got into a fighting stance. "Shyyaaa!" Was the only thing he yelled out, as he faced down the black beast, which got up and roared at him.

The giant ran towards the creature, and spun a bit as it lunged to take a bit out of him, nailing it with a hard fist to the back of its head. The creature roared in pain at the blow, and fell to the ground. The giant then lifted the monster back up by its small arms, and proceeded to pound, pound, and pound into its chest. With a "Kyaaaa!" he then jumped and chopped the monster on the head, as it grunted and fell onto its back.

The Giant capitalized on this, as he jumped onto the monster's chest, and started punching its face hard. Suddenly, the monster opened its maw, and spewed a fireball out from its throat, smacking the giant in the chest.

This made the giant grunt with pain as he got up and stumbled back, his skin smoking, as the monster roared and got back on its feet. It rammed itself into him with its head, then clamped onto his arm with its large jaw of threatening teeth.

"Gyaaah!" The giant yelled out in pain, trying to pry the monster's jaw open with his free arm, struggling as his chest still smoked. It was in this moment, that the blue ball of energy on his chest, suddenly began to flash red. This was a warning that the giant's energy was low, and too much more fighting was possibly fatal to the host.

The giant struggled and grunted, as he then looked and saw the longnecks and their mother looking at him. He slowly remember what he was doing this for, and why it was so important that he succeed. This sight quickly refilled him with his sense of purpose, as he began to clench the fist of his free hand, building up power as it began to glow.

He then put his fist out in a punch and yelled "Yaaaahh!" as a ball of bright light quickly shot out of his hand, hitting the chest of the monster and making it yelp in pain as its body sparked from the impact. He followed that up with a hard punch to the monster's jaw, shattering the bone as he was able to pull free his other arm.

The longnecks watched in awe as the Giant then jumped and kicked the monster once again, sending it flying a few feet away from him.

As the beast was getting up, The Giant used the delay to his advantage. He built up power in both of his hands now, as they glowed with the same light. He put out his right hand, pointed up in the air, and crossed his left arm perpendicular to it, causing an immense ray of light to shoot out from it. It smacked into the monster's chest hard, making it shake for a few moments, before it finally exploded in a bright ball of fire.

As the fireball cleared, The Giant stood, victorious, doing nothing. He then looked to the longnecks, the mother's parents soon joining the group...and slowly realized why Gaia had sent him to this place first. They looked so familiar, and had very similar markings, as well as familiar scent...this was Helios' true family, the one he had lost when they lost him as an egg.

He could change back right now, he thought. He could run to them, and feel their embrace for the first time in his life...the comfort of ones that were like him.

He really wanted to...but he didn't

"It's too dangerous..." He thought to himself, his mind inside of the Giant's. "I have made a powerful enemy with this win tonight...and now is not the time to be selfish. There's more at stake now than just my family..."

With that, he looked up to the night sky, and extended his arms, taking off as he flew back in the direction of the valley.

"Perhaps..." he thought some more. "When this form is no longer needed, we can be together. Until then, I have to be more than I thought I could be. It's like Gaia said...I'm more than just a dinosaur."

he soon vanished into the horizon.

"I am Ultrasaur..."


	3. Heart mended, Soul Corrupted

The sickening, pale skinned body of Cronos sat deep below the surface of the Earth. His eyes were closed, as he sat with crossed legs. His body was adorned with rocks and metal he forged himself within the Earth's core, as his eyes suddenly opened.

"My child..." He sensed the recent destruction of his creation by the new being...the Ultrasaur. "You have been struck down? Most improbable..."

He then looked down to a collection of seemingly dormant eggs. These were eggs that many of his creations had swiped from nests themselves, and brought to him. He reached down slowly, and gently lifted one of these white orbs with two of his massive fingers.

"It would seem that Gaia has finally found a vessel for her will to oppose mine..." He thought to himself as he focused his eyes on the egg. "No matter. I still have plenty of my own vessels to spare."

A flash came over the egg, as a bit of his flesh slowly crept over the egg, regenerating on his fingers as the excess covered the egg. Moments later, a tiny creature broke through the ball of flesh, screeching and snarling.

Cronos gently opened his hand as the creature, reminiscent of a triceratops, rolled into it.

"Feed on my energy..." he spoke to the creature. "Rise to the Earth and grow...grow, and bring my reign of death to the lower creatures. Do not rest until every last dinosaur has breathed their last stinking breath..."

With that, a ball of energy crept over the little creature, as Cronos raised his hand, teleporting it to the Earth's surface.

"Hey, there you are!"

Eos looked over at the returning Helios, laying on his back, as Leto and Selene were sunning with him. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since last night."

Leto and Selene looked to the young longneck expectantly as well. Helios paused for a moment, unsure of what to tell them.

"Go ahead, Helios..." he heard Gaia's voice whisper in his mind. "You are among friends here, and they deserve to know the truth..."

Helios nodded slowly, and walked towards his group of friends.

"Guys...I don't know how to tell you this...but I was out fighting a monster last night."

Eos scoffed at this notion right away. "Oh yeah, yeah right...this from the guy who told me not to go into that cave yesterday."

Helios bit his lip a little. "Actually...I went into that cave last night."

"You what?" Leto's eyes shot wide open, along with the other two dinosaurs. Eos quickly got up and looked in the direction of the cave. He was shocked to discover that the opening had been completely closed off, as if it had never even existed.

Helios nodded lightly. "I have a lot to tell you guys..."

Time passed as Helios slowly went over the events of the previous night, telling them all about Cronos, the monsters, and the giant he could now transform into. The whole group listened with their eyes wide open in astonishment.

"So..." Eos looked at him, in slight disbelief. "Gaia chose YOU to turn into this giant creature?"

"Believe what he says, Eos..." Gaia's voice suddenly spoke out to the group. "Helios was the first to pass my test, and thus the right choice to receive this new power."

"But why did you close off the cave?" Eos called out to her in a demanding tone. "Why is he the only one who gets these powers? What about me? What about the rest of us? It's our world too!"

"Eos!" Helios shook his head slowly as he gave his friend a scolding look. "Stop talking like this is some kind of fun, thrilling thing for me...I nearly died out there, last night!"

"He's right, Eos." Gaia's voice spoke again. "This is a burden that only one of you should have to carry. Helios has an incredible responsibility to save this world from my demented son. He is going to have to grow up a lot quicker than the rest of you will."

"Yeah..." Leto nodded in agreement. "Helios is fighting, so we don't have to, Eos. We can still be kids."

Selene smiled as she walked over to Helios. "And we can remind Helios that he's still a kid when he's not fighting."

Helios nodded slowly. "Thanks, Guys..."

Leto then grabbed a leaf and ran off. "Wait here. I'll get you some water."

Helios nodded and sat down on all four of his legs, very tired. "Thanks again..."

He yawned and settled down to rest as Eos and Selene went off on their own to talk about this some more...

In the area where Helios had rescued his family, a big earthquake had just recently hit, splitting the land in two. It was an explosion of anger from Cronos that neither Helios or Gaia could repress. But, of course, none of the reptilian residents there knew of that.

Among those separated were Cera and her mother from her father and the rest of the children. They now were walking with Littlefoot, Lila, and the mother of the two longnecks, having been separated from her parents, their grandparents. The two groups had met while searching, and were now part of a slightly uneasy alliance.

"I never thought I'd be traveling with a longneck..." Cera's mother, called Kayla, spoke up. "But unlike my husband, I've always hated being alone."

"This is rather unconventional for me as well..." The mother Longneck, known as Vera, answered softly. "But in these circumstances, perhaps a little cooperation is called for. That, and Littlefoot talked me into it. He and Lila are very persuasive for their age."

Kayla nodded slowly. "I just hope Cera doesn't intimidate them too much. She has that problem with her own siblings already."

As the two adults were speaking, Cera was walking well ahead of the group, looking back at Littlefoot and Lila with an annoyed face.

"Come on, you two slowpokes!" She scolded. "The only reason I'm walking with you guys is to find my Dad and my sisters."

"Why are you being so hard on us?" Littlefoot narrowed his eyes a bit. "We didn't do anything to you."

"You're not three-horns!" Cera frowned. "You're just a couple of slow, dim longnecks. That's reason enough."

Littlefoot's eyes got even more narrow. "Come to my face and say that..."

"Guys, guys!" Lila got in between them. "We don't need this right now. What we need to do is find our families. The more time we argue, the more time we waste in doing it!"

Littlefoot's expression softened as he looked to his sister. "You...you're right, Lila."

Cera nodded slowly, and backed off as well. "You sure know how to talk for a longneck..." she smiled a bit.

Lila grinned and nodded. "Well, that's probably because I'm a girl too."

Cera laughed out loud at this, surprised to hear this. "True, true. You should hear how the boy three-horns try to talk sometimes."

The two girls giggled and walked on, with Littlefoot behind him. He frowned at these comments, but only a little.

Moments later, a scream suddenly was heard just North of where they were.

"What was that?" Lila asked with wide eyes.

"Someone's in trouble!" Littlefoot suddenly took off after saying this.

"Hey, wait!" Lila ran off after him, as Cera furrowed her brow for a moment. Her curiosity then got the best of her, as she ran off with them as well, their respective mothers calling to them as they tried to keep up.

When they arrived, they were shocked to see a dead Spiketail on the rocky ground. Standing above it was the form of another monstrous creature. It was the one that Cronos had hatched earlier, that had grown to an enormous size very quickly.

The creature had the head and horns of a three-horn, but he also stood on two legs and had large, muscular arms. He was dressed in black metal with golden trim, as he pulled out the giant battle axe that it had just buried into the side of the spiketail.

Other dinosaurs were gathering around the longnecks and three-horns, as the creature looked out to the crowd and addressed them.

"Lower beings of the Earth!" He called out in a deep voice that nearly shook the ground. "My lord Cronos has tired of you defiling his beautiful work! The time has come for you, whom he has dubbed his living blunders, to lay down your lives, and serve the purpose of remaking this world!"

"Who are you to tell us that we don't deserve to live!" A male dinosaur shouted from within the crowd.

"I am Enoch. A creation, and a servant to the will of Cronos! I am here to tell you all what it is he wants. And I will tell you now that those who give their lives to his cause willingly will die with far less agony than those who dare oppose it."

"I've heard enough!" A male flyer called out. "Let's show this guy that he can't kill ALL of us!"

Other dinosaurs shouted in agreement as the flyer dive-bombed towards Enoch. The creature quickly reached out and grabbed the flyer by the neck, holding him for a moment, before throwing him onto the ground.

The others quickly backed off as the impact made the rocky floor crack around the flyer. Enoch then growled as he raised his axe over his head, and swung it downward. Littlefoot, Lila, and Cera all looked away in horror as they heard the blade slam and crunch into the flyer's body.

They then heard their mothers calling to them in great anxiety, as they turned and ran through the scattering crowd to join them, Enoch slowly stalking them all from behind...

"Helios...Helios!"

Gaia's voice rang in the young longneck's head as he woke up from his sleep.

"Wha?"

"I am sorry to wake you, but something is happening now...listen..."

Helios nodded and yawned...he then heard it, the sound of many individuals crying out in terror, and for help, as the deep voice of another beast bellowed behind them.

He quickly lapped at the water that Leto had given him, and ran out into a wide open space.

He took a deep breath, and looked up to the sky.

"Hyperion!"

More bodies fell as Enoch swung his axe, cutting them down from behind as Littlefoot, Lila, and Cera all ran with increasing speed, doing their best to stay away from the immense weapon.

"There is no use in struggling..." He yelled as he grabbed one unlucky dinosaur and snapped its neck in his hand, tossing the poor male to the side. "Cronos sees all and hears all!"

Vera quickly moved down with her head, and snatched up both Littlefoot and Lila by their tails, placing them onto her back as she moved as quickly as she can, Cera and her mother being separated from them in the chaos that was now occurring.

"What is the profit in running when you know you are already dead?" Enoch asked as he stalked the remainders, including Cera and her mother. "Simply accept your death now, and fear it no more!"

The small group of survivors ran towards what they thought was an open space in the canyon, only to find a long drop below them.

Kayla prepared to protect her daughter as Enoch walked in slowly, raising his axe...

A blast of light then suddenly hit Enoch in the back, making it spark.

Enoch grunted and dropped his axe, turning to see Helios, once again in the form of Ultrasaur, standing in a ready fighting stance.

"It's that giant again!" Cera exclaimed.

Enoch growled as he picked up his axe, and ran towards Ultrasaur, while spinning it above his head. Ultrasaur quickly rolled towards the monster before he could even get his ax all the way down, and smacked him in the stomach with his right fist.

Enoch grunted as Ultrasaur then wrapped his left arm around his neck, putting him in a headlock. The silver giant grunted in his echoing voice as he kept the pressure on the monster's neck. Enoch retaliated by punching him hard in the side, making him let go as he kicked him in the back.

Ultrasaur fell onto his front for a moment, as Enoch picked up his weapon once more. "Even the futile efforts of Gaia herself are of no consequence to the glory of Cronos..."

Ultrasaur then fired off another short beam, from his right hand, only to be deflected by Enoch as he held up his ax. The giant then quickly got back up, and ran towards the monster, grabbing a hold of his ax's long handle.

The two wrestled with it, struggling for a long time, before Ultrasaur then took advantage of his opponent's focus on the ax. He reached up suddenly, and grabbed Enoch by one of his horns, quickly pulling and breaking it off.

Enoch yelled out in pain and frustration, dropping the ax as Ultrasaur then jabbed the loose horn into his shoulder. The monster then fell back and tried to pull the horn out, without success. Ultrasaur capitalized, leaping in with hard kick into the chest, making him fall onto his back.

Ultrasaur then jumped on top of the monster, and began pummeling him with both fists, smashing him repeatedly across the face. Enoch reached down, and picked up a nearby boulder, bringing it up and smashing Ultrasaur along the face with it.

The giant grunted, covering his face, as Enoch threw him off quickly, and got him onto his knees, grunting as he grabbed both of his arms from behind, and pulled them back towards him, placing his right foot on his back, and pushing in an attempt to rip Ultrasaur's arms off.

"Gaaaaaaaahhhhh!" The giant called out in pain, his chest light now blinking as his energy output was getting low...

Ultrasaur concentrated now, needing to do so before losing his arms, as he focused his remaining power...he was able to fight the force holding him down for a few moments, and get onto his squatting legs, allowing him to smack Enoch in the leg with a hard back kick.

The kick was hard enough to break Enoch's leg, making it twist unnaturally for a second. Enoch howled out in pain as Ultrasaur then reached up and grabbed the monster by his arm before he fell, judo flipping him onto his back hard.

Enoch got back up slowly, hobbling on his good leg, as Ultrasaur then crossed his arms once again, and let loose with the great beam of light he used to finish off the last monster. Enoch crossed his own arms as it hit his gauntlets on his armor, trying to block it.

Cera panicked as she saw Enoch walking back towards them, still blocking the beam. She tried to run away, only to find him backing towards her.

"Cera!" Her mother called out, rushing towards her and pushing her out of his way.

At the same time, the beam suddenly caused Enoch's gauntlets to buckle, then break, burning his arms away in seconds. He roared out in pain as the beam smacked right into his chest, making him fall right onto Cera's mother. The impact of both of them falling then caused the floor of the canyon's edge to give out, sending them both over.

"MOM!" Cera screamed out as the two plummeted down to the ground. Ultrasaur saw this, and ran towards them both, but he was too late...Enoch exploded in a ball of fire as he hit the ground, a fire that consumed everything in its way...including Cera's mother...

"MOM! NO! MOM!"

Cera began crying histerically, as Ultrasaur stood there, stunned at what just happened. He had just killed an innocent bystander. He didn't meant to, of course, but still.

"Helios, you can't linger in this form any longer." He heard Gaia's voice in his head. "You're running out of energy."

Ultrasaur just nodded slowly, and reached towards the sky, taking off.

"Where are you going?" Cera asked him, angrily, as he took off. "You just killed my mother, and now you're gonna leave me here? You monster!"

"You monster!" She sobbed as she fell to the ground, all alone now that the other dinosaurs had fled during the battle. "I hate you! I HATE YOU!"

She mourned her mother's passing for what seemed like an eternity, head in her front paws as she cried, much more sedated now.

She then heard a deep voice speak out from the wind.

"Amazing...such rage from someone so young..."

Cera quickly looked up with a tear stained face. "Who's there?"

The form of a pale skinned man in armor walked onto the scene slowly, staring right at the young three-horn. "I am Cronos, Child..."

"Cronos..." Her eyes suddenly shot open at the name.

"Get away from me!" She got up and bolted away from him. "I saw what your monster did to the others!"

"I'm afraid you've been misinformed..." He told her calmly. "It was not my monster that attacked you...it was that of my Mother, Gaia...along with the other monster who killed your mother..."

Cera tilted her head a bit. "I don't understand...why would two monsters from your Mother fight each other?"

"It is all part of her plan..." Cronos continued. "You see, my Mother went insane...she killed my father, and all my brothers and sisters, before I escaped her. Now, she has help...she has tricked a young longneck in the Great Valley into fighting for her, making him think that her monsters were created by me...he can become that silver giant you saw, called Ultrasaur..."

"Where is he?" She quickly walked towards him before he could say anymore. "I want to find this longneck...I wanna kill him! I wanna ram his brains out of his head for what he did!"

"So eager for vengance..." Cronos smiled slyly. "But first, you must be given the power to face him on equal ground. If you charged in on him as you are now, you wouldn't last a minute..."

Cera gave him a curious look. "What are you suggesting..."

Cronos then pulled out what looked like a chunk of a stone. "This is a piece of my beloved sister, Rhea's life essence...I shall mix it with a piece of my own to give you unparalleled strength..."

He then focused and closed his eyes, as a beam shot out from the stone, and from his free hand, both of them hitting Cera right in the chest.

Cera grunted and struggled, before she felt an odd, giddy sensation come over her. She felt an incredible strength filling her body, as she almost lost herself in it, laughing just a little before Cronos opened his eyes again.

"Track down this longneck, and take down any monsters that get in your way..." He instructed her. "Gain strength from their deaths, and use it to take down Ultrasaur. Then, we will kill my Mother together."

Cera felt, and saw swirls of dark energy come around her, as she grinned to herself in a very evil fashion.

"You are no longer a mere mortal creature..." Cronos continued. "You are now Ultrasaur Hades!"

Cera's grin then vanished, as she looked up at Cronos again, a dark gem now embedded on her chest.

"Show me the way to the Great Valley..."


	4. The Meaning of The Fight

Helios was in a bad way...

He couldn't get the image out of his head...the image of the innocent three-horn that had accidentally died in his battle with Enoch. It haunted him...he was meant to protect the dinosaurs on this world, and he couldn't even protect her.

His friends would come by every so often, bringing him food and words of comfort, but nothing got through to him...in fact, there was only one who could bring him any solace.

"Helios..." Gaia spoke to him, calmly..."You cannot let the demise of one soul crush your spirit...many others must depend on the power I have bestowed upon you..."

"Tell that to the three-horn's family..." he softly retorted.

"Even a titan cannot cheat death, Helios..." Gaia spoke again. "Lapetus realized long ago that he could not have his creations live forever, no matter how much effort he put in to achieve this...there are simply some things that are for certain in this universe, and death is one of them."

"Oh sure, YOU can talk so calmly about it..." Helios raised his head with tears in his eyes. "You're a Titan...you rule this entire planet, you created us...you'll live a lot longer than I, or anyone else ever will...you're able to put death at a distance!"

"And yet, it still occurred..." Gaia spoke, not losing any patience with the young longneck. "Remember what happened to my family...what Cronos did...death still found my kind."

Helios nodded slowly, thinking about this.

"There will always be lives lost in such a conflict as this, Helios, it's inevitable...However...with your efforts, we can both make sure that very few of these incidents occur."

"I...guess you're right." Helios rested his head on a rock nearby, getting ready to rest a little more, before he suddenly heard something in the distance.

"Help me!" A young male flyer stumbled onto the scene. "Help me!"

Helios stood right up once he heard this, and ran quickly to the scene. He met the flyer at the middle of a small hilltop.

"What? What's going on?" Helios stopped as he tried to keep things calm with the young male.

"My mother..." The flyer panted as he spoke. "Some, some...thing went after us...she told me to come here...then she vanished...I don't know if...if..." he shivered at the thought of what might have happened.

"Where did this happen?" Helios asked him.

"Right over that way..." the flyer quickly pointed.

Helios nodded and looked over at the flyer sternly. "You stay right here in the valley, understand? I'll go find her..."

The flyer was a bit surprised to hear this young longneck saying this, but he nevertheless nodded slowly, sitting down.

Helios then turned and ran up the paths leading to the outer rim of the valley, looking back to make sure the flyer wasn't watching him. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see what he was about to do, yet...

"Hyperion!"

The flyer only saw what looked like a flash of light for a split second in the distance...he blinked and wondered what it was, before he looked over and saw some good looking berries in the distant bush. His stomach soon took over his mind, and he quickly fluttered over to the food.

The towering Ultrasaur form of Helios landed gently into the cloudy, barren mountain range that was just outside of the valley, his right knee on the ground, before he slowly rose to his feet. The clouds seemed to be getting darker just as he'd arrived, though at the moment, he figured it was only his imagination playing tricks...

His glowing eyes pierced the atmosphere as he searched the rocky place...there was definitely something here...he could feel it...but where it was seemed a total mystery...at one moment, he felt the presence to his left...then suddenly, off to his right...it seemed to be getting closer, then farther, closer, then farther, almost as if it was playing some kind of cruel game...

His attention was then suddenly turned towards a body on the ground...not of a flyer, but of a large sharptooth...it had been savaged, its belly ripped open in a very disquieting fashion. What on earth could do such a thing to such a ferocious creature...another one of Cronos' monstrosities?

Then, he suddenly felt the presence of something strong...standing right behind him.

He quickly turned to get into his fighting stance, before a hand suddenly came out from nowhere, and slugged him right in the stomach. Before he could even yell out in pain, another fist flew in, and smacked him right across his jaw, making him crumble to the rocks below.

Helios turned over onto his back, scrambling, as he saw a menacing figure approach him...it looked like...an Ultrasaur.

But this Ultra was much more dark in its presence, its figure femenine, but still thick and imposing. Her red eyes pierced the dark sky like his, as her form was covered in black, with red trim in certain areas. She had boots and gloves made of shining silver, as her head, neck, and upper chest were covered in the same silvery material, the back of her head attached with a curving blade that stretched from the top of her head down to the base of her neck.

"Surprised?" The figure asked, as she crossed her arms. Her voice was dark and distorted.

Helios rose slowly to his feet once more, his gaze meeting that of the mysterious Ultra.

"Where is the Flyer's mother?" He asked her, his voice also a bit distorted in his Ultra form.

"How should I know?" She coldly responded. "I only attacked them to lure you out from the Valley...your leader has a barrier up to keep the likes of me out, you see..."

Helios balled up his hands into fists as he heard this, putting 2 and 2 together. "You work for Cronos?"

"I admit it freely..." She nodded slowly. "I am one who has not fallen victim to Gaia's lies, as you have."

"Lies?" Helios became even more defensive. "She's trying to protect this world!"

"But for what?" The Ultra responded. "You've seen the monstrosities around here, have you not? They claim to fight for Cronos, but in reality, they serve to make us fear him, and trust the false Goddess, Gaia. She is the one who creates these creatures to spread this havoc. You alone are proof of that fact!"

"No!" Helios shook his head in disbelief.

"The valley is a place where she corrupts the young, the impressionable...so that she can turn them into monsters that will serve her!"

"You're insane!" Helios shot back. "If you even spent a minute with us inside the valley, you'd know that-"

"And if YOU spent more than a few moments out here in the real world..." The Ultra interrupted him. "Then you'd know that Gaia cares nothing for our kind! Letting us suffer, letting us die, while you live a life of privilege in her service! No one else may know, but I saw you...I saw how you let that poor three-horn die!"

Helios gave her a shocked look, under the face of his Ultra facade. "How do you know about that?"

The Ultra ducked the question completely. "All you need to know now, is that your time of service is at an end. I shall now be the true liberator of this world. I am Ultrasaur Hades! Bringer of destruction to the filth of Gaia!"

With that, she unleashed a flurry of punches on Helios. She was so quick that he didn't even have time to block, taking numerous blows across the head, as she then kicked him in the chest, causing him to crumble to knees.

As he went down, she then grasped him around the throat with both hands. He quickly got his hands around her wrists, and attempted to stop what she was doing, as he felt the choking sensation fill him quickly.

After trying in vain to take her hands off with his, he then quickly slipped one under to her mid-section, letting her have it with a quick blast of light as he held out his hand flatly. She grunted at the impact and let him go as her body sparked from the blow, falling back a few feet.

Helios then ran towards her with his right hand cocked, ready to strike. Hades quickly responded by cocking her own right fist, the two powerful hands meeting mid-way, as the collision caused another spark. Before he could come up with another move, she quickly moved down and elbowed him in the belly, making him bend over and grunt as she then took his head under her left arm, pulling him up.

She raised her right fist and yelled out as she brought it down on his back. Helios shouted out in pain as he felt it slam into his spine, and again, and again. He then focused all of his strength, and pushed up against her from underneath, lifting her and flipping her over onto her back.

As she sat up from this move, he then moved to put his right arm around her neck, locking the move with his left hand over his right, applying his own chokehold. He hoped to subdue this other Ultra, because he wasn't sure that if, like him, there was another dinosaur inside of this body. Maybe if he rendered Hades unconscious, he could find out.

Helios wouldn't have this chance, however, for Hades focused her own strength, and quickly brought up both of her hands, the bottoms of both her palms striking his head very hard. He grunted and tried to hold on, before she smacked him with another blow from her palms, making him loosen his grip, finally.

She then got up quickly, and put the staggering Ultra in a headlock, before running him towards a mountain nearby. Before he could even counter the headlock, he felt his head slamming into the rock as she pushed him into it, the force nearly crushing his skull as it made the ground quake a bit around the two fighters.

He staggered as he turned around, disoriented, as Hades then grabbed a hold of his prone left arm. She then flipped him over her back, as he then crashed into the earth once more, rolling as he got slowly onto his feet.

Hades used this free moment to reach back to her head, grasping the blade that was attached and removing it. She then reared back for a moment, and tossed the blade at Helios' chest. Helios saw this coming, as he reached up with his left hand, and made a shield of light around his wrist.

The blade bounced off his wrist with a lot of force, again making him stagger. It then smashed into a rock wall nearby, and bounced back towards him like a boomerang. It sliced into his right leg, making it spark as he yelped in pain, dropping onto his knee, as the blade then flew back, and sliced his left shoulder on the way back to its master.

Helios shouted out in pain, as Hades calmly reached out with her left hand, and caught the blade. He saw her coming towards him, as he slowly tried to get back up, his leg still hurting. She grabbed his shoulder with her left hand, and pushed him back down, before putting the blade to his throat.

"You fight well..." She spoke with a quiet stoicism now as she had him at her mercy now. "But you don't know that I have an edge on you..." Her delusions, given by Cronos, were now in full force. "Unlike you, I have something to fight for, something to believe in...I bet you don't believe in anything at all...that's why you're dead..."

Helios felt the sharp weapon at his throat, getting ready to cut into him, as he pondered the moment...was it really OK to die here? He had failed to save that one three-horn, and it had torn him apart inside for all this time...he felt unworthy of what he'd been given, and was almost ready to accept the end.

But in the distance, he saw something...it was a flyer, a female, who was hiding behind a rock as best she could, nursing an injured wing...He quickly realized who it was, as she was the mother of the young flyer who had come to the Valley earlier.

It was in this moment, that he slowly realized...this wasn't just about him, or even the three-horn he had grieved for...lives were still at stake now, no matter what had happened before. He knew the young flyer was still waiting for his mother, and he still had time to set things right...in spite of yesterday's tragedy, TOMORROW still rested on his shoulders, and he could not afford to buckle under the weight now.

With a surge of strength, he threw off the hand that held his shoulder, and moved under the arm that held the blade, lifting Hades off the ground, and flipping him over his back.

"KYAAAAAA!"

"Uwwwaaaaaaaa!" Hades's deep voice shouted in dismay as she was flipped, landing hard on her back, as her blade fell out of her hand.

Helios readied himself in a stance as Hades pulled herself back. The two charged in once more, grabbing each other by the arms as they struggled. Hades tried to kick him in the stomach, but he blocked it with his left hand, and moved up to chop her across the neck with his right hand.

Hades grunted from the blow as she fell back, before getting back into a fighting stance and circling him. Helios stood at the ready, as she then charged in with a right hook. He promptly ducked it, and moved to her back, pushing her away and holding out his right hand, a blast of energy firing off as it smacked her backside.

Hades yelled in frustration as she felt this, trying to catch him with a right hand yet again. He caught the fist in his hand, and retaliated with a hard right, striking a glancing blow across her face.

The dark Ultra stumbled and grunted as she hurriedly looked for an advantage, seeing her blade on the ground. She rolled over and grabbed it, getting back on her feet. In her haste, however, she had not seen that Helios was there to take advantage. Before she could react with the blade, he struck her with a standing side kick, which sent her flying into a mountain nearby, smashing much of the rock as she hit.

As she stumbled onto her feet once more, Helios readied his hands...he did not know what was under this Ultra, but it was clear to him that it was too deluded and dangerous to reason with now. Energy built up in both of his hands, as he brought them up, crossing them as usual, releasing an even more powerful version of his finishing beam.

Hades saw the beam coming, as she brought up her hand with the blade to block it. The beam smacked into it, as she stood her ground, trying to find a way to deflect it. However, the beam was just too strong, as it caused her blade to buckle, a good piece of it now smashing into her chest.

"Eyyyyaaahhhhh!" She yelled out as she felt the hot force of the beam, which sent her flying once again, turning as she landed flat on her face. "Gooooaaaahhhhh!"

Helios simply stood in a fighting stance now, prepared for anything, as the defeated Ultra slowly rose to her feet, her body smoking.

She breathed heavily as she reached back, placing the bent blade back on the back of her head, as she stared down her opponent. A third light, up on her forehead, began to blink, indicating she was low on energy.

She then laughed a bit, defiantly. "Enjoy it while it lasts, puppet...One day, you will atone for all you have done..."

With that, she took off, vanishing into the dark sky above.

Helios' mind shifted to more immediate matters now, as he reached a hand down towards the injured female Flyer.

"Climb aboard..." he spoke in a gentle voice now.

The female looked up with a combination of terror and wonder. She wasn't quite sure what to think, after all that she had just witnessed.

"Your son is safe..." he added. "Please...he's waiting for you..."

After hearing this, the mother slowly nodded. Even though this creature frightened her, she still wanted to see her son again, no matter what She climbed, painfully, onto his large hand, as he then stood up, and walked slowly back to the Valley.

"Mama!" The young flyer called out, as he rushed from Helios' group of friends in the valley, all of whom were attending to and comforting the new arrival.

Helios walked over slowly and got down on his knee, letting the mother down slowly as she quickly embraced her sobbing son. The two shared a tearful moment together, before the young one finally realized the giant in their midst, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"It's OK..." The mother petted him, reassuringly. "He helped me...he fought off the one that attacked us..."

Helios looked over this emotional moment, and smiled under his Ultra form...slowly, a light came over his body, as he gradually shrank, and transformed back into the young longneck he really was.

The flyers watched this in amazement, the young one in particular entranced...the one who had fought for him and his mother, was also a young one, just like him, he realized. He walked over to the longneck, who was now laying on his stomach, smiling through his exhaustion.

"Helios is my name..." He spoke first. "Pleased to meet you..."

The young flyer nodded slowly, and smiled.

"Petrie..."


	5. Tears of The Orphan

Cera stumbled back onto her feet slowly, after what seemed like days of resting.

The events of her first battle as Hades still ran clearly in her mind. She had charged in, full force, against an enemy she though she had taken out of his element, and thus had doomed him. But somehow he came back...he mustered up a strength that she somehow could not see, and had given her quite a shellacking.

Her jaw ached, as she moved it a little, and walked towards a nearby puddle of water, drinking from it. She grimaced as she drank, not only from pain, but from anger. The thought that she had set out to avenge the death of her dear mother, and had failed. She felt horrible about this.

"Are you giving up already..." Cronos' voice echoed in her head. "Did I entrust this power to the wrong being."

"No!" She shook her head hard as she heard this, lifting her head up from the water. "No, I swear! This means nothing! I can kill him! Really, I can! Just give me some time!"

"I know you can kill him..." Cronos remained calm as he spoke. "But you went about it in the wrong way...you charged in, impatiently, and expected an instant victory...you grossly underestimate your opponent, Cera."

"What am I supposed to do?" Cera's voice took a desperate tone. "You gave me this power to kill him...am I supposed to just stand around and not use it?"

"You obviously didn't hear me out fully, before..." Cronos answered, still calm. "I told you to go after Gaia's creatures as well. Once you've defeated them in battle, you can siphon their strength, and become an even greater power than him."

Cera nodded slowly, eyes closed, as she heard this. "So where are they now?"

She waited for a response for what seemed like several minutes, before Cronos' voice came back to her.

"Out on the edge of the ocean, the place your kind calls 'the big water', there is a fearsome denizen terrorizing the lifeforms in and out of the water. Find it..."

Cera took a few breaths, mustering up her strength to walk a few feet, before she nodded slowly.

"Yes sir..."

Helios sat silently, recovering from his last battle, watching the others from the distance, as they all tended to Petrie and his mother, welcoming them to the Great Valley.

"Here, try these..." Leto told the young flyer, the longneck placing some berries at his feet. "They're really good."

Petrie nodded slowly, picking up the sweet fruit, and munching on them slowly. He grinned in enjoyment soon after, and ate more heartily, as he looked up and saw Helios looking out to him and his mother in the distance.

"Does he talk much?" The flyer asked, curiously.

"Not lately..." Leto slowly shook her head. "I think he's just dealing with...well, a lot, as you saw earlier."

Petrie nodded again, remembering the sight of the giant that Helios could turn into, watching him wordlessly for a moment.

"It really does seem like a lot, doesn't it..." Selene walked up next to Leto. "I mean, he's just a kid, and out of nowhere, Gaia is telling him he has to save the world."

"I know..." Eos added, walking in as he heard the conversation. "At first, I was jealous of him having such power, but now...it seems like he's got the weight of the planet on his shoulders. "

Helios looked on from the distance as his friends talked, silently pondering his next move...it was then that Gaia's voice echoed in his head once more.

"You feel conflicted..." She simply said.

"Part of me wants to be down there with them now..." Helios spoke softly. "But another part of me knows that I need to waste little time, and plan my next move...especially now that another Ultra has shown up..."

"At last, you are realizing the true burden of such power..." Gaia told him. "There will always be that which you would like to do...but yours is now a life of great service to this world, outside of the small world that you and your friends belong to...great service, and great sacrifice."

Helios mulled over this for a moment, before his mind returned to the subject of the other ultra. "How...how did Cronos do it?"

"It must have been with the help of the life essence of his sister, Rhea...he made off with it right after he finished slaughtering his siblings and father. He probably threw in a piece of his own essence as well, to create an Ultra that he can bend to his will."

Helios nodded slowly as he rose to his feet. He then looked longingly towards his circle of friends, and the new arrival...and turned away.

"Do you think there's someone inside this other Ultra, like me?"

"Perhaps..." Gaia responded. "However, my son can be very persuasive when it comes to non-Titan life forms...whomever he has bewitched, it may be hard to sway this person back into your favor."

"Hard..." Helios spoke as he walked. "But not impossible."

He slowly made his way to the outskirts of the valley.

"Where are you going, Helios?"

"I need time to think..." Helios spoke, as a new sense of purpose began to fill his eyes.

"How long do you intend to be away from the valley?"

Helios paused for a moment, silently pondered this question, and then spoke once more...

"I can still hear them, Gaia...their cries for help, not just from the monsters, but the horrible lives they're living because of Cronos destroying the land...I can't sit here in this safe little valley anymore. It doesn't feel right...I may come back at some point...but not right now."

He looked to the outside world. "They need me,Gaia...and as long as they do, I'm going to live among them..."

Gaia remained silent as he walked out of the valley, before she thought to herself.

"This is good...I never dreamt that he would accept his fate so readily, or so quickly. He is truly a miraculous creature, so susceptible to doubt, yet willing to jump into a fight he should never have had to involve himself with. Something wonderful is happening here...I can feel it."

She watched quietly, as he made his way into the world, taking his first steps...

On the shores of the ocean, a lone swimmer walked along the sands.

It had been a few days since Ducky had been separated from her family, and the emotional toll of this had been quite heavy, at first...but for such a small girl, the swimmer was surprisingly resilient for her age, and over those few days on her own, she had managed to find a very appealing place, far from where she had been.

Even though she was still alone, there was something about this vast expanse of water that she found comforting. She had found some fruit from the fertile land nearby, and was chewing on it slowly as she sat on the shore, letting the waves wash gently against her feet.

Then, something caught her eye...for a brief moment, something had breached the surface in the distance...what it was, she didn't know.

It suddenly appeared again, in another section, as the water began to bubble, and big waves began to move towards the shore.

Ducky quickly got up and ran towards a rock, getting on top to get a good look at whatever was causing this disturbance.

It was then that something large, and dark-red, rose from the water, roaring out into the sky. It's head was insect-like, clearly some sort of beetle from the ocean that had been altered. A horn protruded from the top of its head, as menacing mandibles flexed under its fearsome green eyes. It had been given the shape of a bipedal dinosaur in its frame, but its arms were given the shape of two menacing drills, gleaming as the water dripped off of them.

Ducky backed away in horror on the rock, as the creature quickly sensed her presence. It opened its mandibles, and spit out a firey rock towards here. She screamed and leapt away as it smashed into the rock, creating a small fire.

As this was happening, Helios, who was venturing into a volcanic part of the land outside of the valley, quickly sensed the presence of the monster, and the destruction it was wreaking on the seaside. He quickly prepared to transform and fly there, as his chest glowed once more...

"Hyperion!"

At this very moment, Cera sensed both the creature, and the return of Helios. She was walking through a patch of rocky land, very close to her destination. She grinned as she looked up to the sky...

"Excellent...two targets now..." She then exhaled and looked down at the dark gem now on her chest, as black energy began to engulf her.

"CRONOS!"

Ducky still ran from the monster, as it slowly tromped up onto the shallow water, and pulled back one of its arms. The drill began to spin, as it then aimed for the small creature, and lunged down with it, eager to test just how sharp the weapon was against living flesh.

Just as it was about to impale the young, swimmer, however, something caught hold of its arm.

It quickly looked over to see Helios in the form of the giant once more, its arms grabbing a hold of the drill arm.

The monster roared in frustration as Ducky looked up, and watched in awe. Helios then ducked as the monster came at him with the other drill arm, and kicked it right in the belly. The monster backed away at this, as he then came at it with a flurry of punches, smacking it repeatedly in the belly.

The monster quickly recovered, however, and came back at Helios with a drill arm, catching him in the shoulder with it as it then began to spin. Helios yelled out in pain as it cut into his shoulder, making sparks fly as a green, bloodlike substance leaked from the wound.

He hurriedly smacked the monster in the leg with a kick, before turning and smacking it in the mandibles with a spinning punch. The monster fell back and spit out a firey ball once more, making Helios jump out of the way.

The giant knelt on his right leg as he checked his shoulder. Luckily, it was quickly healing up, as the monster once again spit out a fireball. Helios once again rolled out of the way, and fired a beam of light from his right hand in retaliation. It struck the monster in its drill arms, as it held them out and crossed them to block the attack, before countering with a beam of electric energy from its horn.

Helios jumped out of the water, so as not to be electrocuted by the blast, and landed a nice jump kick on the monster's blocking drill arms, pushing it back. He then landed and spun out in a kick, smacking it just below the arms, in its belly.

The creature growled and fell back, before coming at him again with a spinning drill arm. He then ducked the attack, and pushed the monster on the shoulder of the same drill arm, knocking it off balance as he then gave it a hard kick to the back, making it fall on its front into the ocean with a splash.

He then crossed his arms, and got ready to finish the beast off with a blast of his own power...before something dark jumped in from out of nowhere, and kicked him right in the side.

"Back down, weakling..." Hades spoke in her distorted, masculine sounding voice as she stood over his kneeling form. "I don't what it is that you and this creature are quarreling about...but I'll be happy to end it so that I can properly finish you off!"

Helios quickly got up in order to nail the dark Ultra with a right hand, which she simply sidestepped, before kicking the startled giant in the stomach, making him fall back into the water.

The monster slowly got back onto its feet, as Hades faced it down, and brought up her right hand, slowly motioning for the beast to come to her.

The beast growled out in an attempt to intimidate the unfazed Ultra, before letting loose with another fireball from its mandibles. Hades quickly reached back, and removed the curving blade from the back of her head, slicing the ball in two as it came flying towards her.

Helios looked on as he rose slowly back to his feet, watching as Hades then ran in towards the creature, slicing another fireball that was shot towards her. It then powered up its electrical horn for another blast, but she simply then tossed the blade like a boomerang as she spotted this, slicing the horn off.

The monster barely had any time to shriek from the cut, as Hades then let the thing have it with a series of front kicks, each one smashing into its chest, as she then caught the returning blade, and slashed it again, cutting off part of the drill on its left arm as it brought the arm up to block.

The beast then charged in with its other drill, roaring in frustration, as Hades quickly put the arm under her own, and used her other arm to trap its head, gripping it by the neck as she choked it steadily.

Helios used this moment to his advantage, as he once again crossed his arms, building up the energy in them, as he'd been learning to do in the time since his last fight. He then crossed his hands once more, and let loose with a wave of this energy, aimed right towards Hades.

Hades saw the attack coming, however, and turned around with the monster in toe...she then jumped and kicked the beast in the chest with both her legs, springing off of it and sending it to the ocean floor once again, as she somersaulted past the wave, and landed back on her feet.

She then countered by putting the blade back on her head, and placed both of her hands, index and middle fingers sticking out, near her forehead, where the energy indicator was located. A similar blast of dark energy soon shot out of the spot like a beam, catching Helios unaware as it struck him right in the chest.

Helios yelled out in pain, as the rush of dark, cutting energy surged through his body. He jumped out of the way before it could do any more damage to him, and splashed down onto his front, his hand trembling as his chest was smoking and slightly blackened from the attack.

In the distance, a lone adult swimmer, a female, had heard this commotion...she had gone off, searching for her one last hatch ling, leaving the rest to her mate, and now, because of this commotion, she had discovered her child's tracks, and was now walking into the scene of the battle.

Ducky had gone into the water behind a rock during this fight, as she then suddenly began to smell a familiar scent in the distance...she looked up from the rock, and to the side, past where Hades was still beating up on the monster, Helios still hurt and recovering.

"Mama!" She shouted as a smile came over her face, coming out from behind the rock.

"Ducky! Thank goodness!" Her mother shouted, as she began to move quickly to where her daughter was.

The monster, however, was now in the middle of an attempted retreat from Hades, and was walking right towards Ducky, getting ready to stomp on her.

"No!" Her mother shouted. "Leave her alone, damn you!"

With that, she let the monster have it with a thwap of her tail. The creature was angered by the attack, and soon came at her with its one good drill arm. She was able to avoid the attack of the now mangled creature, and whacked it with her tail again, sending the creature into a tree, getting its drill arm stuck in the thick wood.

Hades, focused only on killing the monster and Helios, then removed her blade once more from her head, and reared back, tossing it hard towards the monster...not realizing, or caring, that Ducky's mother was still in front of it.

Ducky was right there to see it happen...the blade sliced through her mother's back and midsection, fatally wounding her, as it then sliced through the body of the monster, cutting it through the heart. The monster quickly stopped struggling, and slumped down from the tree, as Ducky's mother fell to the sand as well.

"MAMA!" Ducky shouted, tears already welling up in her eyes, as she ran towards her mother's body.

Energy slowly leaked out of the pierced body of the creature, as Hades then slowly held out her hands...it turned into the dark energy she used, as it slowly swept around her form, and let it seep into her body.

Helios heard the sobbing of the young swimmer, and it enraged him. He quickly got up and ran towards Hades, yelling out in anger as he caught her with with a hard right hand to the face.

Hades stumbled, but only for a moment. She felt much stronger now, just as Cronos had said she would. In fact, she felt like she could even defeat him now with this extra power.

She then stepped in and nailed him with a hard punch to his still blackened chest, making him grunt in pain, as she then grabbed him, staying above him with his head under her arm, as she then smashed him, and smashed him again with a hard fist along the back.

"It's all over, child of Gaia!" She yelled in a satisfied rush of brutality. She then let him go and kicked him hard in the stomach.

"The favoritism of the valley has made you soft!" She taunted him as she kicked him again, and put her foot on his shoulder. "Taste the agony that I have felt, day after day, before you willingly accept your death from my hands!"

He yelled out in pain as he felt her strong foot coming down on him, almost crushing him, as he was pushed down into the water and sand below. She then turned him over, and stomped him on the chest, over and over again, before his chest light began to blink with low energy once more.

Helios, incredibly weakened now, looked up, as Hades then held out her blade, ready to sever his head from his body, as she lowered it to his neck.

"Why?" He asked her, weakly. "Why are you doing this? Why are you so willing to accept Cronos' lies..."

Hades stared at him coldly, deciding to tell him before he died. "Because...you killed my mother..."

Helios then remembered what happened...with the three horn...

"Oh no...Oh no..." He spoke, mournfully.

"Yes, it's true..." Hades nodded. "Beneath this mask is a haunted little girl...one who is no longer living under the delusions that you have, and is ready to do anything to help Gaia's rejected son, and her rejected creatures...anything..."

"Anything?" He asked weakly, prepared for death. "Including the killing of more mothers?"

The realization hit Hades like a sledgehammer. She had been so bent on destroying Cronos' enemies, she didn't even acknowledge whom she had just killed to get what she wanted.

She looked up slowly, as Ducky wept and wept over the body of her cut down mother...all she had done was get in her way, and she killed her...again, she didn't even acknowledge it at the moment.

She then looked back down at Helios, with a much clearer mind...she could sense it now...yes...the same mournful feeling that she had once had, mixed in with a great deal of remorse.

"No..." she stood up slowly, looking over her blade. "How can this be?" She was incredibly confused now, not sure what to think.

Helios rose slowly next to her. "Please...let me take to Gaia...together, we can-"

She then suddenly whipped her blade to his neck once more. "Don't try anything, weakling!" She shouted, still trying to hold on to her sense of purpose. "I don't know WHAT is going on here, but until I do...you stay the hell away from me!"

With that, she put her blade back on her head, and took off into the sky.

Helios looked on, before slowly walking over to the swimmer, and holding out his hand.

"Here, climb aboard..." Helios spoke softly. 

"Go away..." Ducky whispered as she wept.

"There's nothing here for you..." He spoke again. "I know a great place, even better than this one..."

"I want to be here!" She retorted...she then looked back at her mother's body, the waves already coming in and washing over it. "My Mama always told me, that when a swimmer dies, part of them goes back to ocean where they came from...if this is where she's gone, then this is where I want to be..."

Helios then nodded slowly, realizing she was not going to budge on this. "Very well...if you ever change your mind, though, I'll be back again someday..."

Ducky nodded slowly, watching the waves slowly begin to take her mother's body out to sea, as Helios then took off into the sky...

After sensing the potential dissonance that could arise from what happened with Hades, Cronos was already at work with his next project. He held out his hand and concentrated, as the form of a male rat suddenly appeared on it.

"What the-" The rat spoke, before looking up and seeing Cronos, freezing in terror.

"Fear not, little friend..." Cronos smiled. "I am not like the giant lizards you hide from..."

"Oh no?" The rat spoke, skeptical. "You sure seem to be as big as the rest of them. Why should I trust you?"

"Because I know something they don't know..." Cronos grinned as he spoke. "I know all about how their time is limited, and how your ilk, the mammalians, will one day rise to claim this world as your own, long after the dinosaurs have become a memory..."

The rat gave him a very engaged look now. "I'm listening..."


	6. Hidden Redemption

"Your friends are worried for you..."

Helios heard the voice of Gaia in his head once more as he walked along the vast emptiness of the outside world.

"I know..." Helios responded. "I can hear their voices too...but I hear even greater cries of anguish from the dinosaurs out here, and in greater numbers...such as the one whose mother just died..."

It was Ducky he spoke of, as Gaia responded. "Once more, Helios, you shoulder too much of the blame onto yourself."

"I failed her, Gaia..." Helios spoke firmly. "I may have even created another situation where Cronos can exploit her grief...just like she did with the Three-horn girl..."

"You cannot forsee every single action my son is going to take..." Gaia reminded him. "He is clever in ways you cannot yet imagine. The three-horn girl most likely has strength in her, beyond her years...I do not think the swimmer, on the other hand, can be of much use to him."

"Still, that leaves me with a shoddy record..." Helios retorted. "Two orphaned kids now...one of them in a murderous rage."

"The field of battle is chaotic..." Gaia spoke. "Even the most powerful fighters cannot protect everyone...you are not omnipotent..."

"I dunno..." Helios shook his head slowly. "I think I need some time to think...and train..."

It was as he walked that he glanced out into the distance, and saw something interesting...

There was a large male Longneck roaming the barren land, all by himself. The male seemed to be lost, and had a forlorn look in his eyes, as if he had lost something very important to him. Helios could sense this feeling of loss, as he walked slowly into the line of vision of the adult.

The male looked up at the young longneck for a moment...he wondered if he was hallucinating for a moment, before he saw the youngster move closer and closer, slowly.

"Oh...hello there..." The adult spoke softly, in a deep, comforting voice. "Where are your parents?"

Helios knew about his family's existence, of course, but he also kept to his idea of keeping his identity secret until the time was right...

"I'm...I don't really have any..." He answered, hesitating at first.

"Aw, that's too bad..." The adult answered as he nodded slowly. "I'm starting to think I may have lost my family as well..."

Helios thought about this for a moment...he never saw a father with his mother, and his Grandparents...perhaps he was dead...or perhaps this was him...there certainly was something similar, he thought, in the adult's eyes...and his scent.

"So...where were you headed?" The adult asked him as he thought this over. "There's nothing but rocks and canyons that way...maybe you could travel with me for a while?"

Helios continued to think...his family seemed to be headed in the direction of the Valley when he last saw them...perhaps he could give this adult a helping hand, and see what would come of it...he'd still have to mind his duty to the Earth, of course, but this could be another way to help the outsiders of the Valley, he thought.

"Yeah..." he nodded quickly. "Yeah, let's do that. I know a place where there's lots of good food, water, and shelter from the sharpteeth."

"Really?" The adult looked interested. "Where?"

"The Great Valley." Helios quickly answered with a smile.

The adult sighed and shook his head. "I think that place is just a legend, young one...I've been to every corner of the land, and I've never-"

"I've BEEN there!" Helios answered, with a bigger smile.

"You have?" The adult's expression turned quizzical. "How?"

"Uh...that's a long story..." Helios backed off a bit. "But I DO know that the Valley exists, and I know which direction to go."

"Really?" Bron smiled as he heard this. "Show me, then? Lead the way!"

"Sure thing!" The young longneck grinned as he turned and walked in the right direction. "My name's Helios, by the way!"

"Bron!" The adult answered with a similar grin. "Pleased to meet you. Now let's go find this legendary valley of yours!"

"Will do!" Helios smiled, a new sense of purpose written on his face. He had felt conflicted about what exactly to do with his new abilities, but in the process, he realized, he had forgotten about all that he could accomplish as plain old Helios. Now, with the chance meeting of this adult longneck, he knew that simply giving the adult hope provided the same sense of satisfaction that he had felt after winning a battle.

"I fight..." he thought to himself. "Not just to destroy Cronos, but to give the dinosaurs hope, and the promise of the future that will cut through all of Cronos' misery. I will make this adult happy, and hopefully make others happy in my travels. Oh, Gaia...I hope I can get him there safely..."

"Yes, Helios..." Gaia responded in his head. "I hope you can too..."

Cera was just as lost as Bron was at that moment, but she still had no one to guide her.

The young three-horn sat on a rock, head hanging down as the hot sun beat down on her skin, replaying the events of her last battle over and over, perfectly clear in her head, from the hits she gave and took, to the cries of the young swimmer as she mourned the loss of her mother...a mother that Cera had killed, all because she had gotten in her way.

"I thought..." She tried to break the replaying in her head. "I thought that I knew the best way to fight Gaia and her creations...I thought I knew for sure what was right, and what was evil in this world...damn it, I KNEW!" She squinted her eyes for a moment.

"You do know..." The voice of Cronos came to her once more. "All that I have told you is the truth...you know that. Accept it."

"But..." Cera shook her head a little as she rubbed it with her front foot. "I saw how that swimmer died...how she got in the way, and I gave her a deathblow that wasn't meant for her...how is that any different from the longneck did? What if he accidentally killed my mother? I mean, she was in his way too...just in his way..."

"Why trouble yourself with such questions?" Cronos responded. "Believe me...that's all you need to do, Cera...believe...don't burden your mind with doubt...don't weaken yourself by questioning the one who gave you a new life, and a new mission...Just believe..."

"I don't know..." Cera felt a tear coming on, as she tried her best to hold it back. "I don't know what to believe anymore...I thought you wanted me to stop all the killing when you gave me this power, but now I've turned into a killer."

"An acceptable loss for the greater good of your species..." Cronos spoke.

"Tell that to her daughter!" Cera yelled, tears flying as her head shot up. "She's like me now, all alone in the world, and I'M responsible for that! That's not what I agreed to when I took this power..."

"You're letting yourself weaken, Cera..." Cronos protested, calmly. "You're allowing the loss of one insignificant creature to affect the power inside of you..a power I brought out of you when I made you into Hades..."

"I was blind..." Cera continued, blocking Cronos' words in her head now. "Blinded by my rage...rage that YOU amplified to such a frightening extend, when you transformed me." She calmed down a bit as she then thought of something else.

"But him..." she thought of Helios. "He still offered his hand to me...he was able to do something I couldn't at that moment...he was willing to forgive me, and take me to the valley."

"That is the deceit of Gaia at hand, you fool!" Cronos was losing his patience now. "He wanted to take you to her stronghold, so she could brainwash you!"

"Funny that he didn't drag me there, then..." Cera gritted her teeth a little. "You know, Cronos...I think there is some brainwashing going on...and something tells me it's not coming from Gaia..."

There was a long moment of silence now. Cera got back on her feet, taking a few deep breaths as she stepped down from the rock, turning her head right and left as she awaited a response.

"I was afraid that you were going to go soft, and doubt my truth..." Cronos growled a bit now. "But luckily, I know how to think ahead, unlike you stupid lizards, and I've now entrusted my purpose to a new soul...one who shall put an end to your treacherous thoughts!"

"Bring him here!" Cera's face turned angry as she turned and looked around her immediate area. "I don't care who it is...I'll crush him, then I'll find and crush you too, you bastard!"

It was then that she heard some terrified screaming in the distance...followed by the sickening sound of flesh ripping.

Cera quickly sprung into action, calling out the name of her now-former master one last time, as she took the form of the dark giant, her form growing above the rocks as she quickly flew to the source of the sounds.

She landed to find the twisted body of an adult spiketail lying on the ground, its bones shattered in many disquieting ways, as she looked up, sensing movement near her.

She saw an immense, muscular, humanoid creature with its back turned to her, as he currently had another spiketail in his clutches. She watched silently, as he then tore the dinosaur in half right before her eyes, throwing both of its halves in opposite directions.

He then turned to face her slowly, revealing a ferocious looking face, very similar to a rodent's...his eyes were blood red, as twisted whiskers extended from his face, his body fur brown with black patches. He flexed the long, curving claws that extended from his fingertips, and swished his long rodent tail, as his chest, and arms were covered in a silver armor that glared in the sunlight.

"You reptiles just love pushing us around...always stomping about, with no regard for what's below you..." He growled as he spoke, showing his jangled, twisted teeth in the process, drooling a bit. "Just think of it as an eye for an eye..." He motioned to the mangled corpses around him.

Hades slowly got into her fighting stance. "You must be Cronos' new handpicked savior, huh?" She spoke with a venomous sarcasm.

The creature sneered as he pulled a sword from his back hilt. "I am a nobody, reincarnated as a a force for all mammals...I am Argus! I am the last face you will look upon in your miserable existence!"

"Big talk, furface!" Hades shot back as she reached back, pulling the blade out from the back of her head. "You want me to be afraid? Then beat the fear into me!"

With that, she tossed her blade right towards Argus' head. Argus countered by swinging his sword at the right moment, deflecting it easily. He then leaped towards her with incredible agility.

Hades was caught off guard by the deflection, barely getting back into her stance, before she suddenly felt both of his clawed feet slamming into her chest. She grunted and fell back against a rock wall, as Argus came at her with his sword, slashing downward.

Hades quickly spun out of the way as he slashed, and smacked him in the back of the head with a backhand. He seemed unfazed by it, though, as he quickly countered with a shoulder-butt to her chest, throwing her off her footing again.

Argus swung his sword up again, ready to strike with his right hand. Hades quickly grabbed the wrist with her left, and punched him in the stomach with her right fist, using the same fist to punch his head. Argus quickly weaved his head at the other punch, however, and buried his teeth into her wrist.

"Gaaaaahhhhhh!" Hades yelled in pain, before quickly kicking him in the shin, making him back off, as she quickly found her blade, rolling past him to grab it as he swung for her again with his sword.

She got back on her feet, blade in her right hand, as he faced down her opponent, planning her next move. Argus twirled his sword a bit in an attempt to intimidate her, as he stared her down with a murderous look in his red eyes.

Hades moved in, slashing for his chest, as he caught the swing with his sword, knocking her back. She slashed again, going for his legs, as he caught the swing, and parried it this time with his weapon. He then went for his opening, and swung his sword for her side. Hades quickly moved to the side, as the edge just barely cut into her right side. She then jumped and kicked him in the head as he recovered from the swing, making him grunt in pain as he fell back, shaking it off.

Hades, examined the green blood that was leaking just a little from her side, before firing a beam from her left hand. Argus blocked the blast with his sword, just as she had anticipated, and tossed the blade soon after.

Argus had no time to see the blade coming towards him, as it slashed into his side, and flew back towards its master like a boomerang. He yowled out in pain, gripping his wounded side, as Hades took advantage. She knelt and placed her fingers on both hands near the jewel on her forehead, causing the beam to fire from it once more.

Argus was still in pain from the blade cut, but he was still able to cartwheel out of the path of the blast. Before Hades could respond to the dodge, he reached into his belt, taking out a dagger, and tossing it towards his opponent.

The Ultra had little time to see what was moving towards her, before the knife embedded itself in her right leg. She screamed out in pain as this happened, which made Argus grin with absolute delight...he knew she was truly vulnerable now.

He jumped back towards her, and punched her hard in the face with his right hand. She fell back, and tried to punch back, but he simply ducked, and pushed on the knife in her leg, causing her great pain as she yelled again. He then rose and headbutted her, swinging his sword at her again. She attempted to block with her blade once more, but his sword moved past the blind swing, and cut into her arm, severing her hand down to the wrist.

Hades yelled out in immense pain as this happened, as Argus then kicked her in the leg, and shoved her down to her knees. He then laughed gleefully, as he began to drive her silver face into his knee, pounding her with it over, and over, and over, and over again.

Hades could feel her face being smashed in with each blow, her mind going haywire from the sensations, as Argus then tossed her onto her stomach. He then got out his sword, and began to slash and slash at her back, cutting into it multiple times. She screamed in pain at this, as she scrambled over to her severed hand, and attempted to pry her blade from it.

Argus saw this however, and stomped on her remaining hand, pinning it to the ground. He then kicked the blade away, and turned her onto her back with another kick, pointing his sword right at her throat as he gave her a sick grin.

"Not so tough now, are you..." he tapped her with the blade few times. "Just another reptilian corpse to add to my count...now, any last words before I send you into oblivion?"

Hades looked up at him, the jewel on her head already blinking in low power. "You won't win...you won't win...Helios is gonna kill you, just like he's killed all of Cronos' other bastards..." She coughed a bit after saying this, her voice faint and husky now. "You won't win..."

"Helios..." Argus made a dismissive noise as he shook his head. "Just another disposable lizard, like you."

"Go to hell..." Hades rasped at him.

"Oh no, sweetie..." He brought his sword down to her stomach. "That's where you're going..."

With that, he plunged the blade into her body, impaling her on the ground. The light stopped blinking on her head, as Hades stopped breathing, her eyes turning gray and lifeless as she died.

Argus then pulled his sword back out, along with his dagger. He then sneered, and spat on her dead face, before turning and walking away, a satisfied grin on his evil face as he sheathed the sword on his back.

The wind calmly blew around the corpse of the Ultrasaur, as the life of the poor, exploited girl underneath had seemingly come to an end...a horrible, brutal end. One that no one of her age should ever have had to go through.

Nothing was going through Cera's mind at the moment, as her true form, tied into that of Hades, was also settling in to what had happened, ready to accept her end.

But it was then, that she heard a voice...a voice that pierced her subconscious.

"Cera..."

The voice was not Gaia's...it was that of Rhea...the once beloved sister of Cronos, whose life essence had been used to help create Hades.

"Cera...your eyes have been opened at last."

Cera's mind floated, unable to respond at the moment...she could only listen.

"It is because you rejected the words of my wicked brother, that you can now hear mine...I loved Cronos, as once he was, but that time seems like it was decades from the way things are now...I have seen the evil he has committed since I willingly gave my life for him...it is a decision that has put an unbearable burden upon my heart."

As she spoke, the dead body of Hades slowly began to glow, a magnificent light enveloping it.

"My body may be dead, but my soul now resides in you...my brother thought he could repress me by mixing in a piece of his own essence, but he has underestimated my strength...I hate him for valuing me so lowly, and my hate shall be your strength...let it flow through your body."

The severed hand of Hades was pulled back to the glowing body, reattaching itself as it was also enveloped in the magnificent glow.

"Rise, Cera! Do not let the deaths of the innocent, including that of your poor mother, be in vain. Gaia, even with Helios, cannot accomplish the end of Cronos alone. You are still needed in this world, Cera! Rise! Rise and accept your new life...as Ultrasaur Rhea!"

The glowing body of the Ultra slowly began to stir, the blackness of her former Hades form slowly beginning to fade from her body, purged by the spirit within her.

With that, the reattached hand began to flex...


End file.
